Thick as a brick

It was a beautiful morning today in Naptown. I finished mowing the lawn early, weeded the flower beds, and built a dog ramp (more on that in the future...maybe). After a light lunch, I decided I needed (and deserved) a nap. Went to the garage in search of the hammock. Most regrettably, I wasn't able to locate it. Er, that's the hammock, not the garage.

I did however, find find something much better. Something I'd forgot about. A brick. Not just any brick, but this brick:



There are two things about this brick that make it cool.

#1 It's over 160 years old

#2 It was from a rather interesting wall designed by Thomas Jefferson on the the Univiersity of Virginia campus.

These walls surrounding UVA gardens were modeled after similar style cobble walls in England. When uniform bricks are used, the serpentine nature provids greatly increased lateral strength. This being the case, it was possible to make the walls on UVA only one brick thick, preserving construction material.

However, at the time of construction there was no such thing as a UPS truck. About 13 years ago, one such truck backed a section o f wall damaging a good portion of it. I was on campus as part of a college road trip and happened upon the scene. I couldn't stand the the thought of such a brick ending up in a land fill buried under 40 tons of disposable diapers. So I liberated it.

I just can't help be struck with wonder at the dichotomy betwixt this brick, and it's decendants. These being, of course, the ones serving as a facade for the seven-year-old beige a vu box in which I currently reside.

If bricks could express dissapointment, it would probably look at the those on my house the same way Jefferson might look upon the mockery we've made of the political system in this country.